Pence



J. B. REYMAN.

Picket Fence; No;12,921. Pat ented'May22, 1855.

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UNITED STATE PATENT oFFIoE;

J. B. REYMAN, OF DUBU'QU'E, IOWA.

' FENCE.

Specification of Letters Patent No. 12,921, dated May 22, 1855. I

To all whom it may concern Be it known that I, J. B. REYMAN, of

Dubuque, in the county of Dubuque and the State of Iowa, have inventedan Improvement in Constructing Field -'Fences; and I do hereby declarethat the following is a full and exact description thereof, referencebeing had to the accompanying drawings and to the letters of referencemarked thereon.

The nature of my invention consists in the employment of wire for thepurpose of fastening pickets to the rails in constructing fences, andsupporting the rails in such a manner that the whole is firmly held andbound together for any required length of fence and so as to combinestrength, lightness and durabilitv with speed in erecting, with muchless than the usual quantity of materials and labor employed for suchpurposes.

To enable others skilled in the art to construct and use my improvedfence, the following description is given.

A and B are the posts, of any convenient form and of iron or wood, theyare set firmly in the ground for the purpose of supporting the wire 8,which is passed through holes made for the purpose near the top of theposts. The posts are to be placed at distances apart corresponding withthe evenness of the ground. Generally one will be required at everyconsiderable change in the slope of the surface. On ordinary farms, oneat each corner of a field will be sufficient. Iron or woo-den pins, ofwhich one is shown at N, are driven into the posts through the sameholes that thewire is passed through. They are intended to secure thewire to the posts by binding it against the surface of the hole.

D, D, are slender strips of wood forming the upper rail. They are placedone immediately above'and the other immediately below the wire. They areplaced in the direction of the fence, and in such a manner that theybreak joints, thereby giving them nearly the strength of a continuousrail.

Y is the lower rail, also of wood and of sufficient thickness not to beeasily broken, and may be of width sufiicient to form a base board ifdesired.

a, a, a, are the pickets. They are thin strips of wood and are placedvertically or at right angles to the rails. They are fastened to theupper rail from side to side alternately, by the wire 8; passing overeach and from side to side of the rail. The lower ends of the picketsare fastened to the lower rail alternately on difierent sides ofnailing, or if preferred they may be fastened by a small wire similar tothe manner in which they are fastened to the upper rail. The lower railmay be of the same form as the upper one.

The standard H is a piece of board similar to a picket nearly the samelength but of greater width and thickness. It is placed between the wireand rail similar to the pickets and has shoulders or notches cut acrossit, upon or in which rests the rails. These standards are placed at eachjoint or meeting of the rails and the two ends of the lower rails whichmeet in the notch or shoulder, are firmly nailed to it.

M is a sill of wood and may be placed upon two fiat stones near each endof it; or may rest upon the surface of the ground. Across the top of thesill is cut a small groove for the foot of the standard H to rest in.

K, is a brace, of wood and has its lower end fastened to the outer endof the sill by nailing or otherwise. The upper end is beveled, so as tofit against the, surface of the standard H, and is secured to it by thewire 8 passing over and binding it similar to the manner in which thepickets are bound to the rails. The wire rests in a small groove cutacross the brace for its reception. This mode of fastening the brace tothe standard admits of a hinge motion to the brace and sill, by whichmeans they can be closed and extended at pleasure thereby remedying theserious objection to brace fences inclosing fields which are to becultivated. To move these protruding braces and sills so as to permit a\plow or other implement to pass close to the fence, is the work of onlya few minutes; it being only necessarv at each brace on that side of thefence to lift the fence sufficiently to disengage the foot of thestandard from the notch in the sill; which allows the brace to be closedflat against the surface of the standard; the sill at the same timepassing to the other side of the fence. WVhen they are no longer in theway they can be moved back to their places.

The braces and sills form the supports of the fence in lieu of posts;and are placed and protrude alternately from side to side of the fenceconstruction.

The posts being set, one end of the Wire is fastened to the post at thebeginning of the proposed fence, and then run along to the other endpassing through posts (if any intermediate ones) and the pins insertedby the sideof it rather loosely, so as to allow it (the Wire) to slip asit becomes too tight in putting in the pickets. One end of each rail isnext nailed to the post at the beginning of its fence, and then thepickets are inserted at the other ends of the rails by bending the upperrail from side to side and at each motion inserting a picket and drivingit back until in its proper place. The standard H With the brace isinserted similar to the pickets. The sill is then put in place andfastened to the brace; and the pickets nailed to the lower rail. Afterthe pickets are all in place the pins in the posts are driven hard, andsecure the Wires.

What I claim as my invention and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

1. The mode of fastening pickets to the rails in making fences; by meansof Wire combined and interwoven With the rails in the mannersubstantially as described.

2. I also claim fastening the brace, K, at its upper end to the standardH so as to admit of a hinge motion in the manner and for the purposesubstantially as set forth.

J. B. REYMAN.

Witnesses:

J. M. ALLEN, DAWSON LYON.

